Verizon, Motorola Remake the Razr As an LTE-Based Droid Smartphone

At a press event today Verizon (NYS: VZ) Wireless launched the LTE-capable Motorola Mobility (NYS: MMI) Droid Razr, updating the popular device from 2004 to the smartphone age by having it run on Google's (NAS: GOOG) Android platform.

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha unveiled the device at a press event in New York, and in the grand tradition of splashy product launches called it the "best smartphone on the planet today." The Droid Razr will be available sometime in November for $299.99 with a two-year contract; preorders will start Oct. 27.

The device sports a bevy of high-end specifications and also supports several software enhancements aimed at trimming power consumption and managing data in the cloud. The Droid Razr runs on Android's 2.3 Gingerbread software, has 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording and several enterprise features, including remote wipe, pin lock and government-grade encryption for email, calendar and contacts as well as voice and video chat conferencing. In keeping with the Razr's legacy, the device is quite thin at 7.1 mm and has a scratch and damage-resistant Gorilla Glass screen.

Jha also touted several software enhancements for the Razr. He noted that the device now supports Smart Actions, which he said allows users to proactively shut off unneeded applications and functionality more seamlessly, saving up to 30 percent battery life. He also said the Droid Razr will have better overall battery life than earlier Verizon LTE phones such as the HTC ThunderBolt and Samsung Droid Charge. Additionally, Jha announced a new service called MotoCast, which allows users to create a personal, secure cloud via a PC client that can be installed from the phone. Users can connect the phone to a PC with a USB cable, create a secure account, and select the files they want to share.

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